Exercise Books
by Sky Astor
Summary: Clara returns home from school completely exhausted and instead of having a rest, she decides to do some work first. After a while, she nods off and the Doctor pays her a visit... Whouffaldi ficlet. One shot. Fluff. Glasses!Doctor in the second half of the story.


**Author's Note: **Inspired by my exhaustion when came home on a Tuesday. Leave a review if you like - much appreciated.  
Thanks for reading!  
Enjoy! :3

* * *

**Exercise Books**

Clara came home from school completely exhausted. She closed the door behind her and kicked her shoes off lazily in the corner. Her coat seemed to weight at least thirty pounds as she hung it on the peg. Shuffling into the room, she saw some exercise books lying on the kitchen table. She was quite desperate to lie down, yet she persuaded herself to do the marking first because she knew that she wouldn't want to do it in the evening any more. After entering the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat down to take care of the exercise books that waited to be marked.

* * *

"Clara, wake up."

A quiet growl was her answer.

"Clara, stop sniffing at that notebook and get up," he said, rubbing her shoulder softly.

"Doctor?" her lips mumbled.

She slowly lifted her head that felt so heavy and opened her eyes, which desired to stay shut.

"Of course, the Doctor. Or did you expect anyone, miss Oswald?" he teased her as he cocked an eyebrow. He hoped for a negative answer.

"No, I didn't," she smirked, "I just didn't expect _you – _it's not Wednesday."

"I know it's not," he stated and sat down opposite her, "It's Tuesday."

"Thursday."

"Whatever," he replied in a gentle tone as he rolled his eyes.

She giggled and saw his lips curling into a smile.

"So, why are you here?" she asked.

"I," he paused and his eyes looked down at the red pen lying in the middle of the table, "wanted to see you."

A bright smile appeared on her face when he dared to look back at her. She could feel a light reddish colour creeping to her cheeks, so she took a sip of the orange juice and tried to hide her blush behind the glass, which actually didn't work very well and she knew it.

"I'm glad you're here," she said shyly, which made his hearts skip a beat.

He gazed at her lovingly and gave her a sincere smile. She was slowly drowning in his beautiful eyes that were as blue as the ocean itself.

Her heart was fluttering and she could feel her cheeks burning under his gaze, so she looked back down at the exercise books – only 6 of them marked.

"I can't believe I fell asleep," she sighed.

"I can't believe the TARDIS didn't wake you," he replied in amusement.

Clara cracked a smile and shook her head. Before she could say something, the Doctor continued in a serious tone, "No, but seriously now, you must be very tired."

"I am," she nodded.

She told him she wanted to finish it and her hand found the red pen on the table, but before she could withdraw, his long fingers embraced her hand. She saw his fierce eyebrows draw together in disapproval.

"Let me take care of this and have a rest," he said, squeezing her hand gently.

"You can't do the marking," she protested.

"Of course I can," he smirked and leaned forward.

"My signature has to be there!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," he waved his hand, "I can fake it. I learned it when you left some of those exercise books in the TARDIS," he proclaimed proudly with a grin.

She tried to keep a straight face for a moment but then she gave in. He responded with a winning smile and she shook her head.

"Then it's settled. Perfect. I'll just get my glasses from the TARDIS," he uttered as he stood up.

Before she could say something, he was gone.

* * *

"Clara, come here! And bring the school stuff with you," came a joyful call from the living room.

A smile appeared on her face – his ability of becoming enthusiastic about almost everything could surprise her over and over again.

He was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. His coat was thrown over the armrest and he wore that lovely waistcoat, which Clara secretly adored.

She sat down next to him and passed him what he asked for.

Her brown eyes examined his face thoroughly – tried to memorise it with the new accessory.

"Clara, your face is all eyes again. Have you never seen glasses or what?" he asked, slightly confused.

"No! I mean yes! But not you wearing them," she replied, smiling like broadly.

He shrugged and opened one of the exercise books that rested on his thigh.

"You look great," she added.

His eyes flew back to her as his eyebrows shot up. She bit her lower lip and watched as he blinked a bit more than usual.

After a while, he replied, "Thank you," and his lips turned into a smile.

"You should do this more often – smile, you know. It suits you," she said and snuggled close to his side, wrapping her arms around his left.

He tensed slightly at the unexpected move, but soon relaxed into her touch. He felt how his hearts pick up at their speed and drummed against his chest.

"So…um, you can go I take a nap or whatever that is you humans do when you're exhausted," he gestured towards her bedroom with the pen in his hand.

"I want to stay here with you," she looked up at him.

"Sure? It's not as comfortable as-"

"Shush,"

"Yes, boss."

They smiled at each other and the Doctor allowed himself to place a tender kiss on her forehead. She felt the warmth flowing through her body, coming from that spot where he his soft lips touched her skin.

She returned her head to his shoulder and enjoyed being so close to him – feeling his warmth, smelling the sweet scent of him. Her eyes followed the movements of the red pen he was holding between his lean fingers and her sight started getting blurry soon. In a moment, she fell asleep, and when she did, the Doctor placed a soft kiss in her hair.


End file.
